We’re pressing “pause” on our roadschooling adventure in order to enjoy ten weeks of group learning with other homeschoolers whose parents see the world a lot like I do. What will we do if we wind up liking it more than the road?

Enough of our friends up in the Sierras have a Mexican Christmas food connection that we were able to form a decent tamale-manufacturing crew. This, against the high-altitude snowy backdrop of beautiful Taylorsville in California’s Indian Valley.

Patacones—slices of green plantain that are fried, smashed, then fried again—never seemed to be on any local menus. So I didn’t learn about them until our last weeks in Costa Rica. It turns out that you only need to ask for them by name.